


Taming the Beast

by KawaiiKonekohime



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cancer, F/M, Hope, Hurt/Comfort, Origami, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 19:38:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14600259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiKonekohime/pseuds/KawaiiKonekohime
Summary: Marinette is sick. She's been paler than usual. She's been tired. The last straw is when she faints during an akuma attack. When she finds out she has leukemia, she realizes that the real fight is just beginning and that she'll need the support of her friends and a little hope if she wants to stay alive.Based on a true story.





	Taming the Beast

Chat Noir knew it. He knew that sometimes, he could be a little oblivious, but this he knew. He watched her mannerisms for a week now, so he had his suspicions. He saw how tired she looked during fights that should have been easy for her. He saw how pale she looked when she walked into school. Today, he knew for sure.

He knew even before she gave him a look of exhaustion in the middle of the latest akuma battle. He knew before she collapsed. He knew before he rushed to her and caught her unconscious body before she could hit the ground. He knew before he let the akuma get away in favor of staying by her side. He knew that something was horribly and terribly wrong.

She did not stir when he tried desperately to shake her awake. She did not answer when he frantically called her name. She simply stayed still, and that frightened him to no end.

It took minutes, but it seemed like agonizing hours when she finally woke. Her eyes fluttered opened and she looked at into Chat Noir’s terrified eyes. “C-chaton…?” she mumbled softly, her voice weak.

“Are you okay?” Chat Noir asked. “What happened?”

Ladybug managed a nod and a reassuring smile. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I guess not sleeping well has finally caught up with me. I’m sorry for scaring you.” She wiggled her way out of his arms and stood up.

She took a deep breath and smiled. “The akuma couldn’t have gotten too far. We’d better hurry if we want to catch up to it.” Ladybug tossed her yoyo and swung away to find the escaped akuma.

Chat Noir bit his bottom lip. “Right…,” he muttered. He jumped off as well.

 

They spent two hours searching for the akuma, and another one fighting and purifying it. That is why Adrien was utterly exhausted when he walked into class the next morning. He yawned and tiredly slumped into his seat. He laid his head on the desk. “Man, I hate all-nighters,” he mumbled.

“So, you struggled with that essay last night, too?” Nino said with a chuckle. “I guess Alya made the right call on not letting me procrastinate.”

Of course, Adrien did the essay Nino spoke of on the day that it was assigned, but he did not need to know that. “Something like that,” Adrien replied. He yawned again.

“Wow, if that essay took you this long,” Nino said, glancing backwards. “I guess that explains why Marinette’s overslept again.”

“What?” Adrien asked with a frown. He looked behind him. Like Nino said, Marinette was not in her usual seat. He knew she would be just as tired as him. Maybe she decided to take a day to rest. Yeah, that was it. She just needed rest.

Of course, Marinette’s absence sat in the back of Adrien’s mind all day. He copied his notes in every class for her. He made notes of all the assignments she missed. He scribbled down the fact that they had a test in literature on Wednesday. She would appreciate his thoughtfulness.

“And so,” the teacher explained. “The moral of this fable is—.”

The door of the classroom opened, and Mr. Damocles stepped inside. He cleared his throat. “Mrs. Bustier,” he said. “May I speak to you? Outside, please?”

“Oh,” Mrs. Bustier said. “Alya, I’ll trust you to keep things under control while I’m speaking to the principal.”

Alya nodded her agreement, and Mrs. Bustier offered a smile. She followed Mr. Damocles out of the classroom and closed the door.

“What do you think is going on?” Nino whispered to his friend.

Adrien shrugged. He used the unannounced break to check his phone. “I haven’t heard from Mari all day,” he mumbled. “You’d think she’d be awake by now…”

“Maybe she had to stay up longer than you to finish the essay,” Nino suggested.

“Somehow, I doubt it,” Adrien replied.

He sent a quick text to check in. ‘Hey, are you okay?’

He sat the phone on the desk and glanced to the door’s window in time to see Mrs. Bustier horrified face. “Bad news, I guess,” he whispered.

Nino nodded. “It looks that way,” he said. “I wonder what they’re talking about.”

Adrien’s phone buzzed. He picked it up. Marinette’s one-worded response was enough to make all the coloring drain from his face.

‘No.’

“I think I know,” Adrien said. He quickly packed his belongings and swung his backpack over his shoulder. He stood and walked to the door.

“Hey, Adrien!” Alya called after him. “Where are you going?!”

“I need to see Mari,” he said as he ran out the door.

“Adrien!”

He knew in the back of his mind that Alya, Mrs. Bustier, and Mr. Damocles were calling out to him, but their voices were muted. He could only focus on that message as he ran out of the school building. ‘No.’

 

Adrien did not look back. He did not look at anyone on the way to Marinette’s house. He could only barely register that the light to cross the street was red. He impatiently waited for it to turn green before dashing across the street. He burst through the bakery, not even stopping to catch his breath. He gave a panicked look at Tom. “Where…where is she?”

Tom looked exhausted himself but still had enough energy to give Adrien a sympathetic look. “Upstairs,” he finally said. “With her mother.”

Adrien nodded and climbed the stairs to the family apartment. When he found the living room and kitchen empty, he climbed the ladder to Marinette’s room. “Mari…?”

Sabine looked at Adrien with soft eyes. “She’s sleeping,” she whispered.

“What’s wrong with her?” Adrien asked. “She’s been sick for days, hasn’t she?”

Sabine sighed and nodded. “She told me she had a fainting spell last night,” the mother explained in a small voice. “So, Tom and I decided that it was more than a cold and finally took her to the doctor.”

“What is it?” Adrien asked. “The flu?”

Sabine let out a broken laugh. “The flu,” she mumbled. “If only we could be so lucky. It’s, well I don’t even know all the details myself, but the doctor says it’s acute myeloid leukemia.”

“Leukemia?” Adrien said, his stomach immediately doing backflips at the sound of the word. “L-like the cancer?”

Sabine nodded. “It hit suddenly and fast,” she explained softly. “There’s nothing anyone could do to stop it, or even see it coming. The doctors wanted to admit her immediately, but she threw such a big fit about coming home to pack herself. It exhausted her. As soon as she got here, she crashed. The doctor said it might happen. Tiredness is one of the side effects.”

Adrien silently nodded. That was all he could do. He felt so helpless. “It…,” he finally found the voice to speak. “It can be treated, right? It’s not a death sentence?”

“Her treatment consultation is tomorrow,” Sabine replied. “We don’t know her chances, but…we’ll remain hopeful. Marinette is a strong girl.”

Adrien nodded again in agreement. “She is. Stronger than any of us combined.”

Sabine smiled softly. “She’s lucky to have someone like you by her side. Thank you for taking care of my little girl.” She walked to the closet and packed a small bag of Marinette’s clothes. Once the bag was packed, she left the room.

Adrien sighed. “Some job I did taking care of her…,” he mumbled to himself. He followed Sabine out of the room, allowing Marinette to sleep in peace.

 

The news surrounding Marinette extended absence spread quickly around the school. Adrien hated the sympathetic glances people threw his way and the empty ‘get well soon’ cards they asked him to forward to Marinette.

Due to Marinette’s declining health, visiting hours were limited and most of the time, she only managed to say three words before falling into a fitful sleep. Patrols were lonely, school was lonelier.

It only took three days for Adrien to realize that he hated this new reality. The realization hit him suddenly. One moment, he was reading through his textbook in the library. The next, he noticed his blurring vision. He sat confused for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong. When the first teardrop hit the page in his book, he understood. The dam broke.

He cried. He sobbed. He bawled his eyes out. For himself. For Marinette. For the future that may have been gone forever. The future that they dreamed about together.

“Hey…,” a feminine voice close to him said.

Adrien jumped, and his head jolted up to see who addressed him. He hurriedly rubbed his tears away. It was too late to save face, but at least if he did this, he would be able to see. “Y-yes?”

Once his vision cleared again, he could see Kagami taking a seat beside him. “Sorry, am I bothering you?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, of course not,” he replied. “In fact, I could use the company.”

Kagami smiled softly. “I heard about Marinette.”

Adrien chuckled drily. “I’m sure everyone has by now,” he muttered. “I’ll pass along your condolences.”

“Well,” Kagami said. “I was hoping you could give her something else for me instead.” She gently pulled a square piece of paper from her binder. She glanced at Adrien, then silently pressed intricate folds into the paper until it formed a paper crane. She handed it to him.

Adrien accepted it but flashed a look of confusion. “Origami?”

Kagami nodded. “In Japanese folklore,” she explained, “if you make 1000 paper cranes, the gods will grant one wish, no matter what it is. It could be money, or love, or…”

“Health,” Adrien finished, looking down at the crane.

Kagami nodded again. “That’s right. And I know she’s getting treatment, but sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to have a little faith. To me, it offers hope.” She pulled out two more sheets of paper. “I can teach you how to make them, if you would like.”

“I would,” Adrien said quickly. He placed the origami crane aside and picked up one the sheets of paper.

Step by step, Kagami showed him how to create the folded paper masterpiece. It took a few tries, and more than a few pieces of paper but, soon, Adrien proudly held his first paper crane in his hand.

Kagami smiled and placed her second paper crane on the table. “Three down. 997 to go.”

Adrien nodded and slipped the cranes into his backpack. “That wish is good as ours,” he grinned, the first feeling of excitement he felt since Marinette’s diagnosis coursing through him. “Thank you, Kagami.”

Kagami shrugged. “There’s nothing to thank me for. I just gave you folded paper.”

“No,” Adrien corrected. “You gave us hope. And we could use a lot of that right now.” He zipped his backpack and threw it over his shoulder. “I’ll tell her you said hi.”

Kagami nodded. “Please do. I wish her the best.”

Adrien gave a small parting smile before leaving the library and heading to the hospital.

He stepped in front of the electric door of the hospital. It opened automatically, and Adrien scowled as the cold, sterile air hit his face. It was no secret that Adrien hated hospitals. That hatred intensified when he thought about the fact that his girlfriend had to stay in one for the indeterminable future. Luckily, the doctors and nurses took a liking to her. At least one thing went right.

He gave a polite hello to the receptionist at the front desk before boarding the elevator. He gave a backwards glance to his backpack as the elevator doors closed. He hoped that Marinette would feel okay today. It felt like such a long time since they talked. He would visit every day, but she often slept through visiting hours and all through the night. The leukemia was exhausting her, and the treatment was making her ill. Adrien was useless to change that.

The elevator finally reached its destination and gave a ding as the doors opened. Adrien pulled himself out of his sour thoughts and stepped off. He walked to Marinette’s room and gently knocked on the door.

He listened closely for a weak “come in,” and when he heard it, he opened the door. “Hi there,” he said, peeking his head inside.

Marinette was sitting up. That was a good sign. This was the first time she seemed so alert since her admission. “Hi,” she said, giving a small smile.

Adrien stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He placed his backpack on the floor and walked straight to the bathroom.

Marinette heard running water and knew immediately what was going on. Sabine told her about the doctor’s specific instructions to all her visitors. They were to wash their hands and arms and wear a face mask around her, since her immune system was too weak to fight.

As she thought he would, Adrien walked out of the bathroom with a face mask covering his mouth and nose. He picked up his backpack and walked over to her bed. “Hi there, princess. How are you feeling today?”

“Good, considering I’m terminally ill,” Marinette retorted.

Adrien chuckled. Not even cancer could destroy Marinette’s wit. That was good to know. “Not terminally,” Adrien gently corrected. “You’re going to get treated, then you’re going to be back on your way to conquer the fashion world.”

Marinette smiled. “I’d like to think so,” she said with a small laugh. “But for now, I’m just cancer girl who’s going through an insanely painful round of chemo.”

“No, you’re Marinette,” Adrien corrected again. “Marinette with nothing but cancer on her brain because that’s anyone talks about in this stupid hospital. You, my dear, need a distraction.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “And you brought one, I presume?”

“You presume correct,” Adrien said, opening his bag. He pulled out the cranes one by one and set them on her bed.

“Oh, how pretty!” Marinette claimed, picking up the crane made of golden paper. “Did you make these?”

“I made this one,” Adrien said, pointing to the lopsided crane with drooping wings.

Marinette bit back a laugh. “Oh, did you?”

“All by myself!” Adrien huffed in faux-pride. “Kagami made those other ones. She wanted you to have them.”

“How nice of her,” Marinette said softly, looking over the origami craft.

“She also wanted you to have this.” Adrien reached in his backpack again and brought out a stack of colorful square paper.

“Wow,” Marinette exclaimed, her eyes widening. “But why?”

“Because, my dear,” Adrien said, gently pulled the golden crane from her hand. He replaced it with a blank piece of origami paper and sat the crane aside. “You have some folding to do.”

Marinette frowned, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I’m not following…”

“Kagami wants you to make a 1000 of these,” Adrien explained. “According to legend, if you do, you get one free wish from the gods. I say, for a free wish, I’d make a million of these.”

Marinette chuckled, looking down at the paper. “And what should I wish for?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Adrien asked with a roll of his eyes. “Croissants.”

Marinette burst into laughter, the most pleasant sound in the entire hospital, in Adrien’s opinion. He laughed with her and picked up a piece of paper. “I’ll show you how to do it.”

 

As it turned out, Marinette proved to be far craftier than her boyfriend. When Adrien taught her how to make the paper crane, she made folds in the wrong places and because of that, her crane looked terribly deformed next to his. However, she learned her lesson and exceeded her teacher’s limited ability by the time she finished her second crane.

“Wow,” Adrien breathed, admiring her work. “It looks great. You’re a natural.”

Marinette laughed lightly. “I have to be if I have to make 1000 of these.”

“You overachiever,” Adrien jokingly scolded. “You only have to make 993. Don’t lose count.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Marinette grinned. “Come on, I bet we can make ten more before visiting hours are over!”

They made 20 more. 7+20 = 27. 973 to go.

 

When Adrien came back to the hospital the next day, there were paper cranes scattered around the floor of Marinette’s room. Marinette was sound asleep but her main nurse sat patiently in the corner, creating another paper crane to add to the pile.

Adrien smiled softly and took a seat by the nurse. She paused in her folding to hand him a piece of paper. Adrien understood automatically and began to fold another paper crane. “I thought,” he said as he folded. “Nurses and doctors were people of science. Why bother with something like this?”

The nurse paused, tried to think of a good way to explain her reasoning. “Sometimes,” she said slowly. “You meet a patient that makes you believe in things you never thought possible. And now, I want to believe that she’ll make a full recovery.”

Adrien smiled a half smile, putting another completed crane aside. “You and me both.”

Marinette did not awake up during Adrien’s visit that day. Instead, he and the nurse folded paper in silence to the rhythm Marinette’s steady breaths made.

They made 40. 27 + 40 = 67. 933 to go.

Soon, all Marinette’s visitors caught on to the trend. When they would come, they would take a sheet of paper and begin folding. Together, over the course of a week, they create 450 paper cranes. 450 + 67 = 511. They were over half way done. With every day, Marinette’s health improved. Call it a coincidence or call it fate, but the paper cranes were working.

 

Marinette woke early the next morning. She stretched and knew it would be a good day. Today was the obligatory break day from her chemotherapy, which means she finally had a day free of the painful and nauseating treatment that seemed to do more harm than good.

She reached to the bedside table and pulled off a piece of paper. She folded. It was good for her. Deep down, she hoped that the legends were true and that she would get her wish granted. She experienced magic firsthand. She knew there was a possibility, even if it was a small one.

Even if the legends were not true, she found the origami soothing. The treatment made it hard to think clearly most of the time, which means the concentration required to make her designs was almost nonexistent. Origami was beautiful and crafty, but most of all, automatic. It took very little energy to think about what step came next, especially once she got the hang of making them.

She sat the completed crane on her bed and went to make another. She glanced at the clock as she folded. Adrien would be there soon. His presence was another thing she found soothing. Despite the constant pain she was in, he always managed to make her smile. Even when she was asleep, she knew he was by her side. Her body automatically relaxed in his company.

Like clockwork, the door to her room opened. “Hi there, princess,” he said as he sat his backpack down at the door. He went to wash his hands and put on his face mask. He took a seat beside her and automatically pick up a sheet of paper. “You’re looking better today.”

“I’m feeling better,” Marinette grinned. “The treatment’s working.”

“Or the gods know we’re quickly approaching 1000.”

Marinette chuckled and put another completed crane aside. “Maybe both.”

Adrien completed another and picked up another piece of paper. “Well, if you’re feeling well tomorrow, too, maybe we could convince the doctor to let you out for fresh air. I think a walk in the park would do wonders.”

“They’re never going to let me out of this room,” Marinette reminded him. “I’m too sick.”

“Nonsense,” Adrien said with a small frown. “You just said you were feeling better!”

“But my doctors would disagree.”

Adrien finished folding his paper crane in silence, devising a plan. He glanced at the door, then at Marinette, then at the door again. He stood, and in two quick strides, he made it to the doorknob. He locked the door and sent a smirk Marinette’s way.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, wondering what on Earth her boyfriend was thinking.

“Claws out.” Without another word to explain his actions, he transformed into Chat Noir.

“Adrien…?”

“Well,” Chat Noir said. “If you’re so sure that your doctor is going to be some kind of stick in the mud about you going outside for a few minutes, I say we just don’t tell him!”

Marinette chuckled. “This has bad idea written all over it,” she warned. Despite that, she took his hand and let him lead her out of the bed.

“I’ve been sneaking out most of my teenaged life,” Chat Noir said as he took her in his arms. “It was never a bad idea.”

Chat Noir walked over to the window and opened it. He stepped one foot out of the window. “Oh, wait!” Marinette exclaimed. “We forgot paper!”

“Right,” Chat Noir said, stepping back inside. He quickly grabbed a stack of origami paper and together, they left the room.

Chat jumped onto the roof and Marinette let out a squeal of delight. It seemed like a long time since the last time she had the open air hitting her face. She loved it! For once, she felt like Marinette again instead of the sick shell of the girl she formerly was.

Chat placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and sat her down on the roof’s floor. He sat down beside her. She handed him a sheet of paper and together they folded.

“Okay,” she said as she finished her first crane and started another. “This was a really good idea. I didn’t know how much I needed this.”

Chat smiled. “Then I’m glad I brought you,” he said. “Don’t worry. We’ll have you back in bed before the nurses even realize you’re gone.”

Marinette nodded. She folded with a soft smile, watching the city go by. Her heart fluttered when she saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time in ages. “Hey, Chat?’

“Yeah?”

“When we make a thousand of these little birds,” she said softly. “And I get better. Could we do this again?”

Chat smiled. He smiled the widest smile imaginable. She was speaking of the future again. There was a future for them again. “Of course, Princess. We’ll have a picnic and everything.”

Marinette pulled her eyes from the cityscape to look at him. “With all my favorite desserts?”

“From your favorite bakery,” Chat promised.

“Under the stars?”

Chat laughed. “Now you want it to be a moonlight picnic? You’re pushing it.”

Marinette laughed as well. “Seize the day, right?”

Chat pulled her close and ruffled her hair. “Fine, fine. For you, Princess, a moonlight dessert picnic. But first, we have about 500 cranes to go.”

“Bet we can finish by this time next week.”

“I bet you’re right, especially if you keep having good days like this.”

Marinette nodded. “I bet we can make fifty before we go back inside.”

They made 100. 100 + 511 = 611. At this rate, they would be at 1000 even before the week ended.

 

Dutifully, Adrien came back the next day. He smiled at the new stacks of paper he purchased from the craft store on his way over. He knew she’d like the shiny metallic papers rather than the matte colored paper they previously used. Her artistic eye always enjoyed something that popped, especially in contrast to the sterile white walls she was forced to stare at most of the time.

When Adrien reached the room, he saw Tom and Sabine coming out. Sabine openly sobbed. “Why her?” she demanded in cries. “Why her of all people?”

Adrien’s heart immediately broke. The only thing worse than watching Marinette cope with her illness, was watching the people around her break down when they thought no one was watching.

Tom wore a dazed but solemn expression. He looked tired, mostly, but he used the tissue in his hand to wipe his wife’s face with care.

“Hi, Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng,” Adrien said politely, not mentioning Sabine’s tears. “Is she up for visitors? I brought some more paper that I think she’ll like.”

Sabine’s sobs started anew. Tom sighed and despite his best effort, a few tears escaped his eyes and ran down his cheeks. “She’s gone, son.”

A dull pain coursed through Adrien’s body. His heart raced. No… He heard that wrong. He meant that she moved rooms. It had to mean anything except the obvious. Shaking with unshed tears, he stammered, “W-what…?”

“She passed away early this morning,” Sabine explained between tears. “She woke up for a few minutes, said a few words that didn’t make sense, then closed her eyes. She was gone, just like that.”

“But she was doing so well! She was getting better yesterday!”

“Some people get better right before their bodies give up,” Tom said in a broken voice. “I’m sorry, son.” Tom and Sabine left, probably en route to the chapel.

Adrien’s breaths became heavy. He did not bother to hold back his tears. He could not, even if he tried. The future that was slowly coming back to them, was viciously snatched away in a matter of a day. He should have been there. What would he have said if he were? Her last words—were they a message meant for him?

Then the dismal thoughts hit. Had he killed her? She warned him that going out was a bad idea. The doctors would have disapproved. Was the outdoor air too much for her sick body to take? Was this all his fault?

He looked at the door of Marinette’s hospital room. He could not find the strength to go in anymore. He leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. His vision blurred from tears. He could not figure out what to do next. Everything was too much. Everything hurt. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He folded. “A-a thousand by the end of the w-week, right, M-Mari…?”

By the time of Marinette’s funeral three days later, he folded the remaining 389. They were all buried with her.

* * *

The True Story of Sadako Sasaki

Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima in 1945. Ten years later, she developed leukemia due to the bomb's lingering radiation. When her best friend suggested that she make 1000 paper cranes to make a wish for health, she immediately got to work. She, her friends, and her family made paper cranes until her death on October 25, 1955. According to her family, she made 1400 cranes. She was twelve years old.

Today, Sadako remains a symbol of the innocent victims of nuclear warfare. Her cranes have been donated to memorials such as the 9/11 memorial and Pearl Harbor. There is a statue of her in Hiroshima Peach Park and the Seattle Peace Park.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> And that's the story! I hope you enjoyed!  
> P.S. No, Adrien's actions did not kill her. He simply has a case of survivor's guilt.


End file.
